


Est Longa Fabula

by Majikthise



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: M/M, Roman views on sexuality and slaves, Stabby Stabby, ancient roman times, ides of March
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 03:19:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4003870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majikthise/pseuds/Majikthise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The title is Latin and translates to "It's a Long Story" </p><p>This story is Adam's, or should I say Gaius Sulpicius's.<br/>It is the Ides of March in 44 BC, this is day Adam dies. What happened? What was Adam like at the beginning?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Est Longa Fabula

**Author's Note:**

> See my tumblr for more notes on this story and the history behind it!! Also bits that didn't make it in my final draft and my take on what happens next.  
> [Est Longa Fabula](http://noddingoff.tumblr.com/post/119911484197/est-longa-fabula)  
> See the bottom for definitions of the Latin words with a little history thrown in.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I may be adding additional stories with this version of Adam. I am curious to see his transformation into the man Henry knows.

Gaius awakens enveloped in the water’s murky embrace. His legs begin kicking on instinct, propelling him upward. His head bursts above the choppy waters, and he gasps, sucking in a mouthful of air.

Disoriented, he looks around, realizing he is not at the Baths like he first assumed, but outdoors, and the bank looks far away. Behind him, he sees the thick stones of the _Pons_ _Fabricus_ and realizes with a shock that he is in the middle of the Tiber River.

His friend Sertor must have gotten him drunk on that cheap Gaulian wine again. That would explain why he can't remember anything. And Sertor is forever getting him into trouble. Sertor probably bet him he couldn't cross the Tiber and is now waiting on the shore laughing at him. That must be it. He ignores the fear and apprehension squirming in his gut and begins to make strong, long strokes back to shore.

His fight against the moving water makes faster progress when moving down the river rather than across. A particularly rough current tugs him back under.

Early morning light filters into his consciousness. “ _Gaius_ ,” someone is whispering.

 

* * *

 

He buries his head in the soft leather mattress, deep voice rumbling, “Let me rest.” A hand slides suggestively down his back. “Or not,” he amends, turning toward the naked form of his slave. “Mmm, Flavius, for a moment I mistook you for my wife.” He runs his hand through the older man’s blond curls.

“Is it really so easy to mistake us?” Flavius says, pressing his early morning erection against Gaius’s thigh. Gaius smiles and lazily shakes his head. "I love it when you smile. You don't do it enough you know."

"I never had cause to smile like this until I met you." Gaius responds with utter sincerity. His hand strokes the muscled stomach of his lover before moving even lower when suddenly, a young boy bursts through the door.

Gaius stands up, uncaring that his sheet is falling from his body, "Great Jupiter! Do you any respect, _puer_?”

The boy appears panicked and flustered, and his words come out rushed. “My apologizes,” he says, “but my owner, Marc Antony, has sent me. He says that you must come at once to the Theatre of Pompey. There is a secret plot--planning to end the life of Caesar!”

“ _What_?” This changes everything. Gaius jumps into action. "Of course I will come. But why me? Why not someone more powerful? The senators? Brutus? Surely, Antony is not hard pressed enough to seek out a newly appointed _quaestor_?"

"The senators--along with Brutus--are the orchestrators of this plot," says the boy, catching his breath.

"By the Gods! Where’s my _toga virilus_?” Gaius demands of his slave as he starts lacing his sandals.

Flavius fishes around in the bed and pulls it from underneath himself, “Here, my lov--I mean, _lord_.”

The young boy, keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the floor. It's awkward being in the middle of Gaius and Flavius's bantering and dressing, but he nonetheless continues, "My master said you are one of the few to be trusted--since Caesar bestowed upon you the position he created-- _aediles cereales_. And then supported you in your run for the _quaestorship_. Please make haste. I must travel to several more houses."

The boy leaves. Flavius and Gaius do not speak again until they are finished dressing.

Flavius says, “Let me come with you.”

Gaius rubs a hand over his face. “Now is not the time to bring this up again,” he says. “You know I can’t take you. You’re much too old to pass for a _concubinus_! Those senators are desperate for gossip, and if the nature of our sexual intimacy got out, I don’t think--"

“ _Dulcis_ , please! I am not talking of that. I meant that you should take me because of my use. I was a soldier. True, that was many years ago, but we both know who’s stronger.” Flavius gives a suggestive smile to belie his concern.

Gaius shakes his head. “No, do not worry. I am sure it will be fine. Besides, Caesar has heard these rumors before. He will be traveling with a guard.”

“Even so -- I had a dream last night--”

“Oh please, you know I put no stock in your prophecies!”

“ _Hmph_ , well, if you put any stock in me, and if you want me to put any of _my stock_ into _you_ , then you’ll let me come.”

“You can’t order me, _slave_.”

Flavius just raises an eyebrow.

Gaius folds--just as Flavius had known he would. “Oh, very well,” he says. “But if anyone asks, I’m bringing you to sell at market.”

Flavius chuckles. The two finally leave Gaius’s chambers and run, side by side, out into the new day.

 

* * *

 

Gaius hacks the water out of his lungs after fighting back to the surface. The sun is beginning to set, glinting off of the water and into his eyes. _What is going on?_ He keeps swimming as hard as he can, but the current is relentless, dragging him further and further down the river. He is pulled under many more times.

Long after the sun has set, he pulls his limp body onto the shore. The darkness is quite welcome because Gaius is completely naked. As he lies regaining his strength, he runs a hand over his panting stomach. He abruptly stops when he feels a long, thick line of scar tissue running from his belly button to mid chest.

 

* * *

 

At first, there is no pain, just harsh pressure and a tugging sensation. Looking down, he sees an ornate handle sticking out of his side and the thin face of Albinus, looking regretful--fearful for a single moment before hardening.

He reaches for the handle and wrenches it out. Time passes in slow motion, and Gaius can do no more than hold up his hands in defense as Albinus brings the _pugio_ back down. The blade slices through his palm, almost severing his pinky and stopping when it hits his collar bone.

He shoves Albinus away and runs to the bloody form of Caesar, sprawled on the marble floor. He's desperate to save the _dictator perpetuo_. But before he can reach Caesar, Casca blocks him, the purple sash across his chest is stained black with blood. He thrusts the wide blade of the _pugio_ deep into Gaius's chest and twists, carving upward.

Gaius falls to his knees. As Casca yanks the blade out, thick blood runs off its shiny surface, dripping onto the white marble floor. His body is on fire, and his arms protectively curl around his stomach as he waits for another blow. He looks up in time to hear Casca let out a howl as Flavius punches him in the face before kicking him to the floor.

Gaius’s vision grays slightly; suddenly, Flavius is in front of him, fear shining in his eyes as he rips a piece from his tunic to staunch the blood. “I’ll get you a _medicus_! You’ll be fine. I think Caesar is--well, it’s not important. But you’ll be fine!”

Gaius feels cold. He doesn’t realize that he momentarily blacks out until he is awoken by the warm hand of Flavius slapping his cheek. “Gaius! Stay awake! Stay with me! Please, my love!”

Gaius wants to reassure him, and tries lifting an arm, but his limbs are too heavy. Suddenly, the figure of Casca appears behind Flavius.

“ _FLAVIUS!_ ” Gaius manages to shout, lifting a finger to point at the threat.

Flavius doesn’t notice the finger and continues in his efforts to staunch his lover’s wound.

Gaius sees the blade sink deep into the towheaded man’s shoulder before his vision goes black for good.

The blackness turns into scenes of his life that unfold like a dream: _his parents and their expectations that he would continue to build upon the family’s good reputation, how he studied hard in hopes of not letting them down. The day he was presented with his_ toga virilus _and became a man.  
_

_Being betrothed as a youth to Agrippina, a beautiful girl from a noble family, whom he had no interest in--but he had no choice in the manner as his father had decreed it, and he could not hope to go against_ pater postestas. _Even so he found himself wrapped in dalliances with other male youths._

 _Meeting Flavius: the slave of his fiance's family. The slave who made it clear to him that the others he had slept with were merely practice for his soulmate. The only one he would also allow to penetrate him. And his desire for power--just as his parents had wanted for him--always just as potent as his lust. How he was appointed as the position_ aediles cereales _, a special position created by Caesar himself. And now having just been elected_ quaestor  _at 31, the youngest age allowable_ _. On his way to his ultimate goal, becoming Consul._

_How he skillfully negotiated his wife’s dowry to ensure it contained Flavius, the only one he really ever wanted. The many nights he and his wife slept in separate chambers. Regret that he had yet to provide her with a child. But never enough to stop him from being with Flavius. Flavius’s golden curls. His toned arms, and the way he wrapped them around Gaius._

_Flavius, his everything, his protection, his light..._

 

* * *

 

At the edge of the shore, Gaius sits up abruptly. He feels himself all over. And he finds that he is whole and very much alive. Caesar has been murdered and so had he. Yet here he is naked on the bank of the Tiber.

_But where is Flavius?_

The Gods have clearly smiled on him. They must have done so for Flavius as well. What is one half worth without its other piece?

Thankfully, the _domus_ closest to him, belongs to one of his constituents who voted for him. He does his best to look imposing to the slave who answers the door, as if he always comes to people's doors naked and soaking wet.

Soon the slave comes back with Postuma, the woman of the _domus_. She has come with a sheet and as she wraps it around him she says, "What are you doing out and in such a condition? Haven't you heard? Caesar has been murdered, by the Senate! They ran through the streets, calling themselves the liberators and telling us that we are free. Many are afraid and have shut their doors. Caesar's body was taken back to his _domus._ Marc Antony is said to be there with the family."  

Gaius nods, but says nothing. _What can he say?_ He borrows a spare robe and a horse and flies towards the Caesar's _domus_. It takes him a long time, traveling in complete darkness, but he doesn’t let up and rides at full gallop. Once he arrived he ran to the door, but found himself hesitating. Despite being on good terms with Caesar, he had never been to his personal home, it's imposing much like the man, himself had been.

He's let inside and led to a small room, where Marc Antony sits, alone. 

“ _Flavius?_ Where is he? Did he make it? Is he hurt? Can I see him?”

Marc Antony stares at him like he has seen a ghost. “Gaius? It really is you. Are you injured?”

“I am fine. Now, where is Flavius? Please, show me to him.”

“I was told you were killed along with Caesar. But we couldn’t find your body. Then we heard from the other senators who had been present, but not part of the plot that you had been stabbed to death. That your body had vanished. And it was this disappearance that scared away the conspirators.”

“Please, Marc, I just want to see Flavius.”

“Your slave?”

Gaius nods frantically. "He came with me. He--I mean--I thought it might be good if accompanied me, given his history as a soldier."

“A soldier with the losing side that is."

Gaius doesn't react with a laugh as Marc Antony had thought he would. He merely stares, body tense, waiting for news.

"Gaius, I'm sorry. He was killed in the _Portico_ along with Caesar. His body is in one of the spare chambers next to Caesar’s. I can show you if you want.”

Gaius nods mutely. It doesn’t make any sense. Why had the Gods saved him and killed Flavius?

As he enters the chamber, Marc Antony waits outside respectfully. He walks to the tanned body of his slave, which is now covered in the dark, thick crust of dried blood. He falls onto the body and wails.

He prays to all the Gods, asking they revive Flavius. Nothing happens. He strokes the once soft curls, now stiffly matted together. “Flavius, come back to me. _Please._ You have to stay, I’m to run for the senate. Eventually become Consul, and when I do I’ll change the rules. I’ll make our relationship okay, even if I can only do it for us. I know you think I’m full of lofty ideals and ridiculous notions, but you make me this way. So just wake up.”

Gaius doesn’t know how long he stays in the room, only that it’s getting light outside when a slave finally drags him away. When they see Marc Antony outside the chamber, he is reclining, though looking anything but relaxed.

“You’ve had enough time with your slave,” Marc Antony sneers. “Any more, and people may start to think you are a _Scultimidonus_.” Gaius flinches slightly at the insult. “Now, tell me what happened.”

As Gaius relates all that he remembers of the day’s events, his voice is flat. Part of him numbly thinks he should lie, that the truth is too dangerous. However, he can't bring himself to care. He already died twice today. Once in the _Portico_ and second after seeing Flavius's butchered body. They are interrupted several times by messengers sharing information and making plans. He shows Marc Antony the newly formed scar where Casca cut him open.

Finally, when he is finished, Marc Antony smiles. “Looks like you were chosen by the Gods to be my amulet in fighting these so-called " _Liberatores"_ ,” he says. “I’ve been told that their plot originally included killing me along with Caesar's family. But seeing you disappear made them realize that the Gods may not be on their side after all. They argued amongst themselves over what to do and ended up fleeing to the Capitoline Hill. You saved my life and are clearly blessed. Join with me now, and I can promise you as high a position as you desire as we rebuild Rome in the aftermath of this great tragedy.”

"All I want is the exclusive right to kill Publius Servilius Casca Longus."

Anthony pauses a moment before nodding his assent.

Gaius realizes now that this is no gift from the Gods, but a curse.

**Author's Note:**

> Definitions of Latin words in order of appearance:  
> Gaius- Adam's Roman name, the meaning has been lost to history. Adam knows it, of course. But he isn't telling.  
> Pons Fabricus- a stone bridge that crosses the Tiber River. It was built in 80 BCE and still exists and is used by pedestrians today.  
> Flavius- Slave's were not allowed to keep their own names, but were given them by their master's. Flavius means golden-haired.  
> puer- means boy and is also used as a general term for a slave no matter the age.  
> quaestor- an elected official who worked with finances. You had to be at least 31 to hold this office and Gaius turned 31 that year. This was seen as a stepping stone to higher offices.  
> toga virilus- literally translates as "manly gown" probably my favorite Latin word. It was the robes that boys wore after their 15th birthday to signify that they were now men.  
> aediles cereales- a position created by Caesar to distribute the grain and corn to the Roman people.  
> concubinus- term for a boy slave that a man could sleep with before or after marriage which was culturally acceptable. However, in ancient Rome they were strict that it had to be a younger boy and it that it was always the Roman male who did the penetrating.  
> dulcis- nickname meaning sweet  
> pugio- Roman dagger carried by soldiers, it's exact use is lost in time. Except to Adam.  
> dictator perpetuo- a title given to Caesar by the senate that does not mean dictator for life but "dictator in perpetuity"  
> medicus- doctor  
> pater potestas- basically means your dad has control of you and your life forever. There is a lot of power in this law.  
> domus- home of wealthy nobility  
> Portico- actual room in the Theatre of Pompey where the senate was meeting and where Caesar was killed  
> scultimidonus- Romans were not against same-sex relations as a general rule. Again their major issue was an adult Roman male being penetrated sexually by another male. Scultimidonus is a very nasty insult translating as "asshole-bestower" meaning that you are a bottom in bed.  
> Liberatores- Liberators, what the senators who killed Caesar called themselves


End file.
